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Gods & Spirits Are Not Correspondences

One of the things that tends to annoy me in regards to a large portion of modern books written on witchcraft is the tendency to use the gods and spirits as if they were merely correspondences. A book will give maybe a short intro into who this god or spirit is and possibly a list of correspondences that they associate with them and then jump into having you call upon them in a ritual or a spell. It’s no wonder that I hear from many witches and pagans that they aren’t sure if the gods and spirits are real...

So there are two ways one can respond to this. Either in agreement or disagreement.
Now an argument against the statment that gods are not correspondences is that not all practitioners are theistic or see it as more than an aspect of the psyche, working psychologically.
i understand their point of view and would not say that they are wrong in that regard however i agree that gods are not mere correspondences.

Psyche is Greek for Soul after all. i do thing god-forms are created by psychological correspondence, I do.... which are imbued either with ones one life or some divinity outside of themselves depending on ones model.
they are more than correspondences, they are also syntaxi, thought-patterns and com plex psychological pathways traveled by that we consider transcendent. i will say this, and i stand by it: Even if you see them as psychological correspondences you had better treat them right, in fact that's a good reason to treat them right because treating them wrong is treating yourself wrong and without some kind of personal relationship to them, you aren't going to be working with them as well.

now people can take or leave that statement.

I will also say it pisses me off when people use a god from a culture they dont understand, not taking the time to properly approach the entity. Seeing them as entities they shall work with who they chose, i'm not saying one can't work with them because they aren't from the same culture. the personal relationship is personal between them. that said, I do feel that it is wrong to call up an entity simple because they are listed as corresponding to a given candle color or what have you. It is disrespectful to the entity, it is disrespectful to their followers, to the culture and it also prevents you from forming strong relationships.